Lent started this past Wednesday and this year, the pope has a different idea of what people should be “giving up.” Candy? Alcohol? Red meat? Facebook?
Nope. Instead, in his annual Lent letter, Pope Francis focused on another kind of temptation: indifference towards others.
He writes:
“Indifference to our neighbor and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Usually, when we are healthy and comfortable, we forget about others (something God the Father never does): we are unconcerned with their problems, their sufferings and the injustices they endure… Our heart grows cold. As long as I am relatively healthy and comfortable, I don’t think about those less well off. Today, this selfish attitude of indifference has taken on global proportions, to the extent that we can speak of a globalization of indifference. It is a problem which we, as Christians, need to confront.”
He reminds Christians:
